Expenses and Tips - Who traditionally pays for what in the wedding party?

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The Bride & Her Family's Expenses

Bridal consultant or secretarial services

Invitations, announcements, postage

Wedding dress and accessories

Floral or other decorations for ceremony and reception

Bridal bouquet, bridesmaids flowers, corsages, etc.

Photography - formal and candid videotape

Music for ceremony and reception

Transportation of bridal part to ceremony and to reception

All reception expenses

Bride's gifts to her attendants

Bride's gift to groom

Groom's wedding ring

Fee for services performed by sexton

A traffic officer, if necessary

Accommodations for bride's attendants, if required

Bridesmaids' luncheon, if one is given by the bride

Rental of awning for ceremony entrance and carpet for aisle

Transportation and lodging expenses for pastor or rabbi if from another area and if invited to officiate by the bride's family

The Groom & His Family's Expenses

Bride's engagement and wedding rings

Groom's gift to his bride

Groom's gifts to his attendants

Boutonnieres for the groom's attendants

Ties and gloves for the groom's attendants, if not part of their clothing rental package

The bride's bouquet in areas where local custom requires it

The bride's going-away corsage

The minister's or rabbi's fee or donation Expenses of the honeymoon

All expenses of the rehearsal dinner, if one is held

Bachelor dinner, if he wishes to give one

Accommodations for the groom's attendants, if required

Corsages for immediate members of both families unless the bride has included them in her florist's order

Transportation and lodging expenses for groom's parents

Transportation and lodging expenses for pastor or rabbi if from another area and if invited to officiate by the groom's family

Bridesmaids & Honor Attendants Expenses

Apparel and all accessories

Transportation to and from the location of the wedding

A contribution to a gift from all the bridesmaids to the bride

An individual gift to the couple

A shower and/or luncheon for the bride, if given

Best Men & Ushers Expenses

Responsible for their own transportation and lodging

Out-of-Town Guests Expenses

Rental of wedding attire

Transportation to and from the location of the wedding

Contribute to a gift from all the groom's attendants to the groom

An individual gift to the couple

A bachelor dinner, if given by the groom's attendants

Traditions - Why do the bride and groom share wedding cake?" And many more...

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Did you ever wonder how some of the traditional rituals associated with weddings and marriage had their beginnings?

Some are based on romantic myth; some on religion; some on a time when marriage by capture was the mode of the day; and some, of course, on rather odd superstitions. Delve far and deep enough into our past and you find some interesting - and sometimes strange - historical twists and turns on the road of matrimony.

Throwing the Bridal Bouquet and the Bride's GarterOn the bridal night in olden days guests would invade the bridal chamber, seize stockings and throw them backwards over their heads toward the bride and groom. The first female guest to hit the groom would be the next one to marry within a year, and the same applied for the first male to score with the bride's stocking. In retrospect, tossing the bouquet and the garter certainly seems a much more civilized idea!

Sharing the Wedding CakeWhen the bride cuts the first slice of cake and offers it to her groom, she is carrying out an early Roman ritual. In Ancient Rome, couples plighted their troth by sharing food. Indeed, sharing food as a symbol of sharing one's life is practiced in many cultures.

Why Bridesmaids Are Dressed AlikeIn more superstitious times, the bride and groom were surrounded by friends of similar ages dressed in similar attire, as a way of confusing evil demons. This way the demons could not find the real bride and groom and bring them bad luck. Today's bridesmaids dress alike, as do the groomsmen, as it's a way of confusing any who would wish the couple ill luck.

Wedding Bells and Honking HornsLoud, honking horns escorting a newly married couple in a motorcade of friends and family may seem to be only high spirits and boisterous public congratulations. True, but its roots go deeper still. Older traditions were clanging bells and shooting guns, both methods of frightening away evil spirits.

Why Is It Called a Honeymoon?An old Teutonic custom held that the bride and groom ran away together, found a secluded place and spent thirty days, "until the moon waned," drinking hydromel. Hydromel was a fermented drink made with honey.

With this Ring...Rings have been with us for a long time, but how they became so intimately linked to engagement and marriage is another facet of man's social history. Before the minting of coins as currency, gold rings were circulated for that purpose. When a man gave his bride a gold ring, it signified that he trusted her with his property. During Elizabethan times, the gimmal, a set of interlocking rings, was quite popular. One ring of the set would be worn by the intended bride, another by the groom-to-be, and a third by a witness. All three rings would be united on the bride's finger at the marriage ceremony. Today the diamond solitaire, symbolic of wealth and undying love, is the popular choice for American engagements.

The Bride Wears Something BluePart of the old litany, "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue," which prescribes the talismans a bride should wear on her wedding day, was quite specific about the color blue. Wearing a snippet of blue ribbon, or some other bit of blue about her gown, denotes purity, fidelity and love. It was also the color associated with the Virgin Mary.

Rice and Other Fertility SymbolsShowering rice upon the departing, newly married couple is a tradition that seems to have begun in Victorian times. Flowers were sometimes thrown, as well as shoes (satin slippers) in an older custom, but the throwing of rice -- long held as a symbol of fertility -- made its appearance about 1870. Confetti, little paper cutouts of horseshoes, hearts, and other motifs, also became popular to toss at the new couple. Both the rice and the confetti, however, presented some concerns. Though eaten by birds, rice wasn't a healthful item for them, and confetti presented difficulties in cleanup. Birdseed became the accepted substitution for rice, and fresh flower petals are often used. Blowing bubbles, instead of tossing tiny missiles, has become the modern send off for the bridal couple.

The Groom Must Not See His BrideTradition holds that the groom must not lay eyes on the bride the day of the ceremony until they meet at the altar. The superstition is that this can bring the couple bad luck, since they have glimpsed the future before it has happened.

Carrying the Bride Over the ThresholdWhen the groom carries the bride over the threshold, he is reenacting a very old tradition derived from many cultures, and one which can be traced to Roman times. This ritual was carried out to protect the bride from worrisome demons which might be lurking about the new home. If she were to trip entering the doorway, it would bring bad luck to the couple. This unhappy chance was avoided by carrying her through the doorway and over the threshold.

Wedding Trivia - "Why is white (usually) worn by the bride?" and other fun trivia.

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A ring with a pair of clasped hands is one of the oldest symbols of "plighted troth.

"In 1895, a single color -- pink -- was fashionable for spring weddings. In 1900, yellow was the color most often selected.

There should be at least three knots in the ribbons of a bridal bouquet, to represent husband, wife and child.

Yellow was the favorite color for a bride's dress during the eighteenth century, and it was usually made of a heavy brocade.

In horse and carriage days, knotted favors of ribbon decorated the ears of the horses which drew the bridal carriage.

The original function of the tissue paper, which is enclosed in a formal wedding invitation, was to blot the ink. Now, it's simply added for the "look," or the "fun" of it.

Brides began wearing white for weddings as early as the sixteenth century; wearing white was a reflection of family wealth. Only the wealthy could afford a garment that would soil so easily, and be worn on only one day.

Many societies frowned on the use of yellow for a wedding gown, as they believed it was a sure sign of a wife's intention to cheat on her husband.

An old German superstition held that pearls signified tears for the bride.

In earlier years, brides placed their bouquets at grave sites in the cemetery, in remembrance of family members who had "passed on.

During the time of the Roman Empire, couples were not officially married until they had eaten together. Perhaps this was the beginning of the wedding reception tradition.

Diamonds were not popular for engagement rings until the nineteenth century, when the exploitation of South American diamond deposits made it relatively inexpensive.